


Fruit of the Vine

by merryfortune



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Discussion of Pregnancy, F/M, Fade to Black, discussion of sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-07-08 08:34:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19866625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merryfortune/pseuds/merryfortune
Summary: Perhaps it was time that a new generation begins; a different kind of labour endured.





	Fruit of the Vine

Taiju returned to his and Yuzuriha’s space inside the camp: The Kingdom of Science. She was sitting on the beaten floor, kneeling, and idling herself. He knew better than to question it. Just like how farming kept his mind off certain things, he had no doubt that sewing kept her mind off certain things. Still, her newest pet project had the pace of his heart quicken.

He swept aside the curtain door and he immediately noticed the size of the little booties that she was working on. Yuzuriha did not lift her head from her work, making steady progress with linen and leather and her little bone sewing needles. She always looked like a madwoman when she was deep within her projects but as Taiju sat down, he was shaken by how much she didn’t resemble that ogress state that she would often immerse herself in when she was in the classroom. Though, the classroom was several thousand years gone but not the memories or the movements that it had begun.

“Are you making… baby shoes?” he asked.

“The saddest story in the world…” Yuzuriha mumbled.

“Huh?” Taiju blinked.

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Yuzuriha recited to him.

Taiju snapped his fingers as he leaned closer into Yuzuriha’s personal space. His great big eyebrows knitted into themselves and Yuzuriha smiled as she continued to deftly work her needle.

“It’s a short story – a flash fiction – often attributed to Ernest Hemmingway; I don’t know if that’s true or not but it’s certainly something. I think its evocative of tragedy, don’t you? Six little words are able to convey so much more emotion and story than you think, yeah?” Yuzuriha explained.

“So, these little shoes aren’t meant to be worn?” Taiju asked.

“I suppose not. No one in the settlement is pregnant, after all. The children of the settlement are too big for something this size now… Have been for a while since most of them were four or so when Senkuu arrived after all and Tsukasa didn’t revive anyone that young either.” Yuzuriha recalled.

“So, why’re you making them? It’s a waste of resources, kinda.” Taiju mumbled.

“No more of a waste than making bags to put my department store clothing in… It’s just an exercise in creativity.” Yuzuriha’s tone of voice was kind but soon became nostalgic: “I loved babies back in the modern world. I didn’t see them often. My family was relatively cut-off from our extended relatives but if I saw a baby on the train or on a bus, I’d smile and play peek-a-boo with them if their mother was busy or something. Oh, and sometimes I would babysit for mothers in the apartment complex that I lived in. They always said I had some sort of magic touch for their babies. One hug from me and they’d stop their crying…”

“That sounds real sweet, Yuzuriha.” Taiju complimented her.

She blushed demurely and set down her work. Her hands were aching, but she enjoyed the thrum. She enjoyed the humdrum of creating things from scratch, from simpler materials. That was her science: the science of home economics and the like.

“Did you ever want to be a mother back in the modern world?” Taiju asked, his sun-browned cheeks reddening though, it was hard to tell as Yuzuriha had been working by natural light rather than artificial light and now that it was twilight, things were becoming quite dim in the orangey, murky glow.

“Yeah, I did actually.” Yuzuriha replied. “I couldn’t imagine myself being a career or office woman. I’m not that kind of gal; still not, I suppose. I think it’d be nice, looking after a family and a home as a housewife.”

“That sounds sweet too.” Taiju said. “I always wanted to be a husband, truth be told.”

Yuzuriha’s lips twitched. She laughed. “You don’t say?”

“Yeah. Be a big ol’ family man; carry their pictures in my wallet, show off my kids to every guy I come across. Boast about how great my wife’s cooking is to the fellas in the office or construction site or whatever. I wanted to be the parent to my kid since I didn’t get that growing up, you know?”

“Yeah, I know… I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be.” Taiju waved Yuzuriha’s concern off him.

“W-Was I ever your darling wife in those daydreams?” she asked in a tiny voice.

“Well, yes and no. I was always terrified you’d turn me down but, well, I always thought we were two halves of a whole, so I thought I’d risk it. But I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, so I’d imagine someone like you… All in name, I s’pose. Would’ve been weird, yeah? If you didn’t like me and I was planning my fantasy wedding with you.” Taiju rambled.

“How considerate of you.” Yuzuriha said. “I always wanted a traditional Japanese wedding, you?”

“I like the Western aesthetic actually. Black suit and tie. I mean, I can’t imagine myself wearin’ that sort of thing at any other occasion whereas I can imagine myself in the traditional garb at every other festival or holiday.” Taiju replied.

“I’ll remember that.” Yuzuriha murmured and she pecked Taiju’s cheek; it was bristled with his five o’clock shadow. She liked the prickles though but wouldn’t tell him since he prided himself on keeping himself well shaven.

“Thanks.” Taiju mumbled.

“But…” Yuzuriha murmured. “I think that brings us to the same page. We’re both pretty young still, though.”

“It does?” Taiju felt a shiver down his spine.

“I think that we’re both very close… maybe even there… to perhaps wanting a child.” Yuzuriha said.

“A kid’s a pretty big commitment.” Taiju replied.

“I know. But, rebuilding civilisation from scratch is also a pretty big commitment and we’re doing pretty well at it. Senkuu,” Yuzuriha’s eyes lit up with a joke, “Uncle Senkuu would have to help but I’m sure he’d be able to help us get a clinic running lickety-split. I think that’s what our next big project should be. A pregnancy in the settlement would certainly inspire him; inspire him better than say someone breaking a bone or whatever.”

Taiju laughed; he hugged his belly. “I’m still hung up on ‘Uncle Senkuu’. But yeah, that sounds like a good idea. We should pitch it to him later. A clinic.”

“An _obstetrician_ clinic.” Yuzuriha corrected him. “After all, we haven’t exactly inquired amongst the Ishigami villagers what their child-birthing practices have been like prior to, well, our acquisition of them.”

“Yeah, that is true…” Taiju said. He thought about when Turquoise had talked about the famine which had taken a lot of her family.

“But yeah… I think, maybe, it’s time, you know?” Yuzuriha murmured. “We’re not getting any younger.”

“Yeah, we’re three-thousand-seven-hundred-and-eighteen.” Taiju agreed jokingly.

“Maybe it’s time for the Kingdom of Science’s first baby.” Yuzuriha murmured.

“And maybe it should be ours. After all, Senkuu might’ve been the leader but we were his first two acquisitions. Makes sense.” Taiju continued.

He looked down on Yuzuriha. She looked beautiful in the twilight, by the threshold and with her sewing supplies nearby. This mightn’t have been the life any of them had ever imagined but it was the life which had come so naturally to them. But they were still eighteen despite the three-thousand-seven-hundred part… And yet, they were still adults. There was barely anyone older than them in the settlement; only a few people well past middle-aged and then a few who were genuinely elderly. They truly were the Kingdom of Science’s young adults. It was a strange and unsettling territory yet one that Taiju was increasingly becoming convinced of.

“Are you sure, though?” he asked tentatively.

“Certain.” Yuzuriha murmured.

Yuzuriha lifted her head. Her hair looked so shiny and auburn; her eyes were well-downed with an amorous certainty. Taiju leaned down and met her puckered lips. He kissed her fully onto her lips. Her lips were a little bit cracked, but she was still so soft and sweet. He could smell the perfume of leftover lacquer and the like on her. It was a feminine yet hardy smell which contrasted with his stench from working the fields, but she liked it.

The kiss ensued for what felt like a blissful eternity. It had been their first real kiss in ages and Yuzuriha’s heart raced when she broke the kiss off. She flashed a smile.

“You get the lights and I’ll make sure the door doesn’t open on us.” She said.

Taiju blushed. “G-Got it.” he stuttered.

Yuzuriha’s following smile was brilliant before she twisted around to ensure that the curtain didn’t flap about thanks to a burlesque breeze or similar. Meanwhile, Taiju got to his feet as awkwardly as possible so that he could turn on some lights. He was suddenly very excited. They both were as they both wanted to bring forth a new fruit from a new vine.


End file.
